Disclosure: What I am about to tell you, you already know.
But I am going to tell you anyway. Because you and I both need it.
I am a distance runner, as you probably know. And I was out running the other day. This particular day happened to be a chilly one (upper forties) and raining.
As I was moving along my course, two things happened:
One, I approached an elderly fellow I see often on my runs. And two, I was about to hit the base of the toughest uphill climb on this particular course. So to recap, I ran into the old man at the base of this steep climb.
Being a cool rainy day, the old man looks me in the eye, raises his hand to wave, and grunts “What a miserable, rotten day.”
Now, to inform you more about the context of this situation, the old man is wrapped tight in long pants, sweatshirt, winter coat, knit cap, gloves, and of course, his cane.
I am in running shorts and a light sweatshirt. And I am warm.
When he and I meet on my runs, I am guessing he is out for his daily exercise, and being an aged fellow, he moves slowly and seems to labor a bit. I always mentally prepare myself should I see him stumble, fall, or collapse.
In any event, on this particular morning, as I approach, I am trying to gear up some momentum as I hit the base of this long climb, and then he hits me with the “What a miserable, rotten day” line.
Without really thinking, I nod, salute him as I always do, and proclaim “No, it is a glorious day! Nice and cool!”
I surge past him, hit the hill, and power through the long, uphill climb…faster than I normally do. I seemed to have been blessed with an extra surge of adrenaline.
Now usually, I want to mock people who spout Attitude is Everything outburts like I had just done. But I was pleasantly surprised at how that little act of defiance inspired me.
And for the rest of my run, I ran a little faster, enjoyed myself more, and had fun. Despite the rain and the cool chill…
I tell you this for one reason:
Figure out how to employ this little strategy in your daily lives. Use it to power through a work out. Use it to power through a difficult sales opportunity. Use it to power through a problem to solve. And use it to knuckle down and attack a creative challenge.
Hard stuff isn’t really hard. We just think it is hard, and thus it becomes so.
But a quick mindset shift, which you have the power to make, can change everything. It can change your attitude, your energy level, your context, your paradigm, your perspective, your viewpoint, etc.
And this makes almost anything possible.
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Drawing by Hugh.
